North Korea launched a ballistic missile off its east coast on Monday, South Korea’s army mentioned, a day after the North vowed to take “offensive and overwhelming countermeasures” in response to a brand new U.S. army drill with South Korea and Japan.

The Joint Chiefs of Employees mentioned the launch was made on Monday morning, however gave no additional particulars, together with how far the weapon traveled.

The launch got here two days after South Korea, the U.S. and Japan ended their new multidomain trilateral drills. The “Freedom Edge” drill drew a U.S. plane provider and destroyers, fighter jets and helicopters from the three nations, and the three nations practiced missile protection, anti-submarine and maritime interdiction drills.

On Sunday, North Korea’s Overseas Ministry issued a prolonged assertion strongly denouncing the U.S., South Korea and Japan over their three-way drill. It referred to as the drill an Asian model of NATO that exposed a U.S. intention to escalate regional army tensions, exert stress on Russia and lay siege to China.

The North’s Overseas Ministry mentioned it is going to “firmly defend the sovereignty, safety and pursuits of the state and peace within the area by way of offensive and overwhelming countermeasures.”

Monday’s launch was the North’s first weapons firing in 5 days. Final Wednesday, North Korea launched what it referred to as a multiwarhead missile within the first identified launch of a developmental, superior weapon meant to defeat U.S. and South Korean missile defenses. North Korea mentioned the launch was profitable, however South Korea dismissed the North’s declare as deception to cowl up a failed launch.

In current weeks, North Korea has floated quite a few trash-carrying balloons towards South Korea in what it has described as a tit-for-tat response to South Korean activists sending political leaflets by way of their very own balloons.